I. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to foam plastic cleaving machines and more particularly to such a machine having a new means for supporting the band blade thereof.
II. Description of the Prior Art
In one prior art foam plastic cleaving machine of the kind specified (German Offenlegungsschrift No. 2,222,889) the tensile force is generated by a suction chamber which is disposed between the truss and the band blade and is connected to a suction pump. To give the truss satisfactory stability without its height exceeding a desirable amount, in the prior art apparatus the truss is relatively wide, so that each cutting edge of the twin-edged band blade is covered by the truss. Moving the truss relative to the band blade therefore exposes each cutting edge to be used - i.e. displaces the truss from one cut to the next, two suction chambers of the truss coming into operation alternately. To obtain parallel cuts, both cutting edges of the band blade lie in one, for instance, horizontal plane. However, with a position for the band blade of this kind there are difficulties in parting thin sheets from a block of foam plastics, since during cutting the material escapes, for instance, upwards.
It is therefore an object of the invention to construct a foam plastic cleaving machine of the kind specified such that even thin sheets can readily be cut from the block of foam plastic.